Ludwig van Beethoven - Short Essay

Ludwig van Beethoven
      Who was Ludwig van Beethoven?   Most people just seem to know him as the great Beethoven. Although he is known as one of the most commonly known composers, I think he is probably the most well known of all composers.   He was born in Bonn, Germany on December 17, 1770. He was the second-oldest child of the musician Johann van Beethoven. Because his father was a musician, Beethoven’s goal at a young age was to become a pianist. When he was the young age of eight years old, he gave his first public performance on the piano. At eleven, he received training for piano performance and composition. His trainer was Christian Gottlob Neefe; he was also a court musician in Bonn, Germany.   At twelve years of age he published some music that he had written himself. These are some of the events of young Beethoven’s life.
In 1783 he became a part of Neefe’s orchestra. In 1787, he left home to go to Vienna for the first time in his life. This is where he met and studied music under another famous and great composer named Mozart.   A tragedy then struck Beethoven only 5 months before his birthday. His mother died.   She died on the day of July17, 1787. He was greatly saddened by this horrible event. It is because of this event that Beethoven returns home to Bonn. Another tragic event happens to him in 1791. A great composer and his mentor, Mozart, dies. In 1792, he chose Vienna as his new place to live. In 1798, he started to get a hearing disorder, which would eventually cause him to go completely deaf. Better news follows in 1801, when he performs Symphony No. 1 in C major. However in October 1802 he writes the Heiligenstadt Testament to his brothers. This is a letter in which he reveals his sadness over his hearing. These were some of the important events in the middle of Beethoven’s life.
Beethoven had many financial disputes with his brother and a man named Karl. In 1804, he performs Symphony No. 2 in D major. In 1806, he performs Symphony No. 3...